July 29th 2023.
Passengers at Waterloo train station in London were met with disruption caused by a strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union. RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch has accused the Government of financially supporting a dispute that has been ongoing for over a year, preventing a resolution from being reached.
Mr Lynch claims that the plan to close ticket offices, which has worsened the dispute, will only save around £89 million, a 'tiny fraction' of the £1 billion he believes the Government has spent to keep the strike going. He believes that the public is being 'ripped off' in order to fund the ticket office closures and the profits made by rail companies, which will mean elderly, vulnerable and disabled people will no longer be able to use the railway.
The RMT is still committed to reaching a negotiated settlement on pay, jobs, security and conditions, and the union is receiving strong support from the public. However, passengers were warned to check their travel arrangements as the strike will see a wide variation in services, with some areas having only half of their usual train services and others experiencing no services at all.
A Rail Delivery Group spokeman said that the strike would cause 'disappointment, frustration, and financial strain' for tens of thousands of people. Meanwhile, a Department for Transport spokesperson said that the Government has listened to the unions and offered them 'fair and reasonable' pay and reform offers, which should be brought to the members to resolve the dispute.
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